The Elmira and Corning boys soccer teams each finished one game short last season from reaching the New York State Public High School Athletic Association playoffs. Both are looking to take an extra step or two forward in 2014.

Elmira posted an 8-8-1 record after losing to Ithaca 5-0 in the Section 4 Class AA championship game.

“I believe we overachieved last season making it to the sectional finals with such a young squad,” Express coach Derek Hamilton said. “That youth turns into veteran leadership this season, as we return seven of our 11 starters, including five players who are entering their third year of varsity soccer.”

Senior forward Kyle Johnson returns after producing six goals and six assists. He was a Southern Tier Athletic Conference Metro/West All-Star a year ago.

Midfield should be in good hands with senior Tyler Prunoske, an All-STAC West pick, joining senior Eli Halperin and junior Andrew Field. The trio combined for 10 goals and three assists.

“The team has no egos and enjoys working together,” Hamilton said. “Our goal is to continue to improve our play throughout the season, and we will play our best soccer as we enter sectionals in October.”

Corning comes in off a 15-4 performance and the STAC West title in Steve Mastronardi’s second season as Hawks head coach.

Vestal proved to be the thorn in Corning’s side, as the Golden Bears defeated the Hawks 3-2 for the STAC crown on Oct. 17 and 2-0 in the Section 4 Class A championship Nov. 2.

Mastronardi welcomes back major contributors from that 2013 squad, led by STAC Metro/West All-Stars Zach Quist, Luke Terwilliger and Isaac Davis. All are seniors, with Quist and Davis slated for midfield and Terwilliger for defense.

They won’t have to carry the load by themselves, as senior forward Alexander Tostanoski and sophomore defender Cameron Metarko are back along with senior midfielder Franco Summa and senior defenders Brian Austen and Spencer Kohli.

The top newcomers are Erik Eckstrom, Jacob Grano, Connor Nazarcyk and Trevor Kohli.

Despite the talent, Mastronardi isn’t calling his Hawks the STAC West favorites.

“We expect to be competitive within STAC this season. ... STAC is always tough, especially within the STAC West. There are a lot of good coaches and players. We will see who can put it all together,” he said. “Our keys for this year will be our organization on defense and attacking mentality.”

Horseheads: Close games went against the Blue Raiders a year ago.

Horseheads coach Mark Mucci said his team suffered seven one-goal defeats on the way to a 5-8-2 record. Three of those setbacks came against Elmira, including a 1-0 loss in the Section 4 Class AA semifinals.

Three seniors return on defense for the Blue Raiders, led by All-STAC West pick Gerardo Nunez. He’ll be joined by Marc Andrien and Carter Kabott.

New to the big team are sophomore midfielders/forwards Isaac Pastel and Nick Juan.

Putting the ball into the opposing net will likely determine how far the Blue Raiders can go

“I hope goals won’t be an issue. We’re looking to generate more offense this year,” Mucci said. “We had chances last year that we didn’t finish.”

So far, Mucci likes what he sees.

“We’ll be strong. We have a good core group. They can move the ball and they understand the game,” he said.

IAC

Elmira Notre Dame: Soccer wasn’t a low-scoring game for the Crusaders a year ago, as they rolled up 106 goals on the way to a 15-3 record.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, 55 of the goals came from graduated stars Li Molingou and Brandon Mahajan. Both were All-Interscholastic Athletic Conference Large School South first-teamers, and Molingou was a fifth-team all-state selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The Crusaders dominated the IAC Large School South All-Star first team with eight selections. Molingou was the MVP.

Brian Adams, in his eighth year as head coach, has molded Notre Dame into one of the most successful programs in Section 4. The Crusaders have claimed the IAC Large School South title the past three years.

Coming back for a shot at a fourth title are senior co-captains Alex Sabia (midfield/defense) and Jack Haskell (defender). Haskell was first-team All-IAC Large School South, and Sabia made the second team.

Returning midfielders Alec Cutler and Connor Bayne were first-team all-stars in 2013. Cutler, a junior, and Bayne, a sophomore, competed on the Adams-coached Soaring Capital Firehawks team that qualified for the National Presidents Cup in July in Greenville, S.C.

The top newcomers are junior forward Rocco Coulibaly and sophomore midfielder Aidan Sharma.

“We have players untested at the varsity level, but they’re very talented,” Adams said.

Finding a goalie to replace three-year captain Will Pochal could be Adams’ most difficult task.

“It’s an open job,” he said.

The Crusaders can also look forward to competing on their new turf field.

Odessa-Montour: The Indians started out 3-0 a year ago and ended up 4-10-2 with a young team. The good news is a lot of players return.

Dirk Stephens, in his 13th year as O-M head coach, said he’s had good turnouts for practice and expects to carry a roster of 20 or more. In past years he’d have 16 to 18 to work with.

Senior defenders Cody Daugherty and Joe Rorick lead the way after receiving IAC Small School South honors in 2013. Daugherty made the first team and Rorick the second.

Daugherty and Bruno are co-captains. Stephens said Clark has improved dramatically in the off-season.

Junior James Terry is competing for the goalie job with sophomore newcomer Andy Fudela, who could also see action at midfield.

“We’ve had a lot of strong teams over the past 10 years,” Stephens said. “Last year was a tough season. ... There were five games when we were up 2-1 with less than 10 minutes to play and we lost them all.”

Stephens pointed out that the team worked hard in the off-season to get back to the program’s glory days, competing indoors in Lansing and outdoors in the summer.

“This particular group is fun to work with,” he said.

Waverly: A larger than expected turnout has Wolverines coach Tara Hogan confident last season’s 0-14 record won’t be repeated.

“I have about six more players this year than I am used to having on the roster. There are a lot of newcomers that show a lot of promise,” she said. “It’s great to see more players who have an understanding of the game come out for the team. In the past I have worked with a lot of players who were completely new to the game, which is time consuming.”